Beet digging and conveying machine



' 1,479,929 Jan. 8 1924. A. M. RICKS BEET DIGGING AND CONVEYING MACHINEFiled June 26, 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet l' Jan., 8 1924. n 1,479,929

A. M. RlcKs BEET DIGGING AND CONVEYING MACHINE Filed June 2e, 1920 5sheets-sheet 2 N Jan. s, 1924. 1,479,929

A, M. RlcKs BEET DIGGING AND CONVEYING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1920- 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 8 1924. y 1,479,929

A. M. RlcKs BEET DIGGING AND CONVEYING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1920 n 5Sheets-Sheet 4 l Jan. s, 1924. v v 1,479i929 A. M. RICKS BEET DIGGINGANDv CONVEYING MACHINE Filed June 26', 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 PatentedJan. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES ALYA M. RICKS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

BEET DIGGING AND CONVEYING MACHINE.

Application ined :une 2e, 1920. semina. 392,053.

To all whom t may concern.'

v Be it known that I, ALVA M. Rions, a citizen of the'United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the countv of Los Angeles, State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Beet Diggingand Conveying Machines, of which the following 1s a specification.

This invention has to do with beet digging and handling machines andmore particularly beet digging and conveying machines. An object of theinvention is to provide a simple and effective machine for removingbeets from the ground and delivering them to a topping mechanism, or thelike.

' T he subject of the present application is,

as above specified, the digging and convey.

ing apparatus hereinafter described, while the beet topping mechanism,its co-operating parts, etc., herein disclosed in connection with the,digging and conveying mechanism, is the subject of my Patent #1,445,449on Beet topping machine granted February 13th, 1923.

rl`he various objects and features of the invention will be bestunderstood from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention throughout which reference is had to theaccompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of inyimprovedmachine showing it in its raised position; Fig. 2 is a plan view of thesame being a view taken as indicated by line 2 2 on Fig.-

1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged side'eleva-tion ofthe operating portion ofthemachine showing it in its down or operating position; Fig. :l is areduced sectional view taken as indicated by line fit- .1 on Fig. 3showing the various vdriving connections; Fig. 5 is a reduced sectionalview taken as indicated by line5 5 on Fig. 3; Fig. Gis a plan view ofthe upper or rear parts shown -in Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is an enlargedsectionalview taken as indicated hy line 7 7 on Fig. 3, showing the toppingknives; Fig.v 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken as indicated by line8 8 on Fig. 1; and Fig. 9 is a plan view of the lower or forward partsshown in Fig. 3.

For simplicity and sake of clearness the leaves or foliage of the beetswill be herein' termed tops while the bodies will be termed r beets.

In the drawings I show a suitable main frame 10 supported at itslforward end by a pairs of wheels 12 and at its rear end by a pair ofwheels .11. In the specific form of construction herein set forth themachine is arranged to be propelled by an engine 29 through the rearwheels 11. The engine 29, which is preferably an ordinary internalcombustion engine mounted on frame 10, is connected with the wheels 11through a transmission mechanism, or change. speed mechanism,29a and adifferential mechanism 29h, such as is common in automobileconstruction. A suitable clutch 29d is arranged between the engine andthe transmission so that the machine can be conveniently controlled.The. shaft which extends from the differential mechanism has drivepinions 3lmounted on it to engage internal gears 32 arranged within therims of wheels 11.

Within the main frame 10 is mounted a sub-frame 13 which carries thebeet digging, conveying, and topping mechanism. This sub-frame 13 ispivotally connected at its rear end to the main frame 10 by a horiizontal transverse shaft 14, which. extends across the main frame 10andthrough the sub-frame 13,.' The shaft '14 is rotatably carried betweenmain frame members 15 and4 extends through hangers, or bearings,mount-ed on the sub-frame 13. By this construction the sub-frame 13 Iisvertically adjustable, that is, it may be swung or adjusted about theshaft 14 as an axis. For adjusting the sub-frame 13 racks 16 are mountedon the forward end of sub-frame 13 to extend upwardly and engage pinions17 mounted on horizontal transverse shaft 18. The shaft 18 iscarried insuitablezbearings 18:L and has a hand wheel 19 mounted on,one of itsends in'order that it may be conveniently rotated by hand. It will bereadily understood how rotationof shaft 18 will cause lowering orraising of racks 16 through pinions 1 To afford. a locking means, forthis adjusting arran ement, pawls 20 are mounted on shaft 21 an arearranged to normally be held in engagement with pinions 17 by springs22. To release the locking mechanism pawls 20 are released from pinions17 bypressure on their rear ends.

The sub-frame 13, as before stated, carries the beet digging, conveyingand topping mechanisms. The beet digging mechanism isarranged at theextreme forward end of sub-frame 13 and comprises, generally a soilengaging and disturbino' element 113, and a geg ' ranged atthe rear ofthe sub-frame, and

comprises, generally, a main conveyer mechanism which extends from thebits to a second conveyer extending from the main conveyer` to thetopping mechanism. The entire beethandling mechanism is arranged so thatit is compact and so that thebits 124 can be lowered to the ground, sothat they will engage and pick up the tops of the beets,

by lowerlng sub-frame 13 in the manner above set forth. ln the operationof the machine the various elements and mechanisms above referred toco-operate in a manner which makes the machine positive, accurate. andeflicient in its operation.

The two bits 124 are tapered. or conical shaped, members arranged to beparallel with each other and so that their small ends extend towards thefront of the machine. The bits are also spaced somewhat apart, as shownin the drawings, and are arranged to be at an angle of about 45 with theground when the machine is operating, and are in the form of screwsrather than being smooth. rlFhe threads or spiral projections 124,formedon the bits, are opposite in direction on the two bits so thatrotation of the bits in opposite direction will cause both of them tomove objects, engaged by them, in the same direction. Further, thethreads 124a are formed so that when the bits are rotatingyso that theiradjacent sides move upwardly, they move objects, engaged by them,rearwardly. lln operating the machine sub-frame 13 is lowered so thatthe bits are in position to engage and pick up the tops of the beets andfeed lthem rearwardly to the main conveyer rolls 23. rllhe bits not onlygather. the tops, that are directly in the lline of travel of themachine, but also guide the tops of any beets which arerout of lineinwardly so that those beets will also be picked up. As the tops arecaught between the bits and are moved rearwardly and upwardly they arelifted from the ground, and carry with them the beets. After the top ofa; beet is caught by the bits it is carried upwardly and rearwardlyuntil it engages,lor is caught by and between, the conveyer rolls 23.

lljn practice and under-ordinary circumstances the bits 124. 'aresufliciently effective, in picking up the beets by their tops,

to make any other mechanism unnecessary.A ,Howeven it the ground beparticularly hard, or if the beets be particularly hard -to remove fromthe ground, it may become desirable to employ a soil disturbing mem- Iber in connection with the bits. rllhe soil disturbing member 113comprises a vertically adjustable carrier 117 carried in a on it at itslower end a longitudinally arranged plow member 114 and near its upperend a transversely arranged blade 15". 'llhe carrier 117 is adapted tobe moved vertically in guide 121 by a screw 119 which is screw-threadedin a block 120 mounted on frame 10 and which is provided at its upperend with a hand wheel 122. rll`he carrier 117 is so located on frame 10and the carrier 117, arm 113, and plow 114 are so arranged andproportioned that the plow 114 extends along one side of the row ofbeets being lifted by the bits, at a point well below the surface Iofthe yground and where the beets beginpto be lifted, so that the groundis loosened at one side of the beets thereby' making them easily pickedup. rlhe blade 15a when lowered to operative position, extends from thearm 115 transversely across under the ground surface and under the bits124 at a point where itv will assist the bits inlifting the beets.,

from the ground. lln practice the machine is built with a carrier 117 ateach side of the frame 10 so that arm 115, carrying plow 114 and blade15"5 can be arranged at either side of the machine and so that, ifnecessary, a plow and blade can be arranged at both sides of themachine. lt may be stated` however, that' it is not necessary, and infact not altogether desirable, to providey plows and blades at bothsides of the machine as it has been found that best. re-

sults are had when only one plow and blade are employed. lln practice itis preferred that the carrier 117 be adjusted so that the plow 114 is aconsiderable distance under the round, or so that it is near the lowerportions of the beets, and lthat it be arranged so that it will notactually engage Vthe beets to mutilate or damage them.

The conveyer rolls 23, which receive the tops from the bits 124, aresmooth cylindrical rolls carried at their lower ends by bracket members26 and at their upper ends by bracket members 28. The bracket members 26and 28 are mounted on the subframe 13 4and are spaced and braced by"other and are spaced somewhat apart so that the tops are held betweenthem, but they are Inot sufficiently far apart to permit of the beetsbeing drawn through or between them. In practice, the conveyer rolls 23and the bits 124 are formed integrally with each other, as shown in thedrawings. By constructing the conveyer rolls 23 and bits 124 integrallythe machine is materially simplified in that the bits 124 can be rotatedby the rolls 23 thereby makingit necessary merely to provide a drivemeans for the rolls 23.

While the tops are held by the conveyer rolls 23, due to the rotation-of the rolls in opposite direction, they are moved or advanced'alongthe rolls toward the rear of the machine by advancing fingers 73 carriedon a chain 72. The chain 72 is arranged above the conveyer rolls so thatthe fingers 73 will extend downwardly toward and between the conveyerrolls 23,1 as clearly shown in the drawings. The chain 72 runs oversprockets 74 and 75 and is positively driven in the direction indicatedby the arrowin Fig. 3 through sprocket 74. The sprocket 74 is mounted ona positively driven shaft 77, carried in bearings 78, while sprocket 75is mounted on a shaft 80 carried in a suitable bearing blocks 81adjustably mounted on bearing brackets 26, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings. The bearing blocks 81 being adjustably mounted on thebearing brackets 26 can be regulated to set or adjust the chain 72 sothat it is of the proper length and tightness. The advancing fingers 73,it will be noted, are mounted on the chain 72 to be perpendicularrelative to the chain and are formed with rearwardly'A extendingdiagonal brace members 73a which do not connect to the chain but merelyengage it when it is straight. The brace members 7 3n brace the fingers73, allow the chain to pass over the sprockets,and also brace the chain72 and prevent it from sagging to allow the lingers 73 to extend too farbetween the conveyer rolls 23. VThe. chain 72 is driven, in the mannerhereinafter described, at a speed which will cause the beets to beadvanced along the conveyer rolls 23 sufficiently fast to prevent themfrom becoming clogged, or suliiciently fast that the beets are disposedof as fast as they are supplied to the rolls by the bits 124.

IVhile the tops are being held between the conveyer rolls 23 and arebeing advanced towards the rear of the machine by the ad- .vancingfingers 73 the beets are preferably supported and advanced towards therear of the machine by horizontally disposed advancing fingers 60carried onv a chain 59,-

which operates in synchronism with the chain 72. The advancing fingers60 are arranged at suitable intervals on the chain 59 and the chain 59is carried on sprockets 65 i i and 60a so that.k the fingers 60 ontherearwardly moving portion ofthe chain arein position to engage andadvance the beets. The sprocket 60a, which drives the chain 59, ismounted on a drive shaft 61 at the rear of sub-frame 13 while thesprocket 65, which carries chain 59 is carried on a spindle 65'r1 whichextends from a bracket 67 adjustably mounted on one of the brace members66, as clearly shown in the drawings. The chains 72 and 59 are operatedin synchronism, or so that their linear velocities are the same',thereby causing the tops and the beets' to be moved rearwardly at thesame speed, preventing the advancing fingers from having any tendency todisplace or dislodge the tops from between the conveyer rolls 23. Inpractice, the co-operation of the advancing lingers 73 and the advanci-ng fingers 60 positively prevents clogging or choking up theconveyor rolls 23 and makes the machine positive and particularlyeffective in its operation.

When the tops reach a 'pre-determined point near the upper ends of theco-nveyer rolls 23 they are transferredvfrom the conveying mechanism,just described.v to conveying chains 24. 4To transfer the beets from theconveyer mechanism above described to the conveyer chains 24 withoutallowing them to drop, a guide finger 1()L is arranged to extendpartially between the conveyer rolls 23 from their undersides. Thefinger 10a is arranged a little to one side so that it will notinterfere with the ad vancing fingers 6() and is arranged to engage thetop .portions of the beets to prevent further upward movement of thebeets and thereby cause the tops to be Withdrawn from between theconveyer rolls 23. It is preferred that'the finger 10 be somewhatcurved, as shown in the drawings, so that the tops will be graduallywithdrawn from the rolls 23. In practice, when the machine is operatingthe conveyer rolls 23 are at an angle of about 45 relative to the groundwhile the guide finger 10a is arranged to be substantially horizontal.The arrangement of conveyer rolls and guide finger and the shape of theguide finger cause the tops to be removed from the rolls 23 graduallyrather than suddenly. This is important in that it prevents the topsfrom being torn or stripped from the beets and 4prevents jarringorsudden shocks that' might cause members 91, arranged to extendrearwardly from the braces 66, as clearly shown in Fig. 3,.

The conveyer chains 24, which receive the llU lll

from the rolls to the chains.

before they have been completely removed from the conveyer rolls 23prevents them from being dropped during the transfer Each of theconveyer chains 24 is carried by a sprocket 24a, a sprocket 24", and asprocket 24. rlihe sprockets 241) are mounted on'vertical driven shafts94 while the sprockets 24a and 24 are mounted on vertical shafts 99 and94a respectively. rlhe shafts 94 are at. the sides of the machine, or atthe sides of the sublframe 13, in order lthat they -may extend yfrom theupper portion of the sub-frame to the lower portion of the sub-frame,where the topping mechanism is arranged, withoutx interfering with theconveyer rolls 23. VThe several sprockets which carry the chains 24 arearranged so that thechains have parallel rearwardly moving portionsarranged, close together to grip the tops and carry them rearwardly.Shafts 94 are rotatedin opposite directions and at the same speed so asto cause the parallel portions of chainsl 24 to move rearwardly at thevsame speed. It will be readily understood how tops, dclilvered to thechains 24 from conveyer rolls 23 by guide linger 10a, are firmlygripped,

'- between the chains 24 and are moved rearwardly carryingwith them thebeets.

The chains^24 in carrying the beets rearwardly carry them -intoengagement/ with rotary knives 25, arranged close under'the lthe abovementioned patent.

chain 24, and thereby cause the beets to bc cut from the tops. rl'hetopping mechanism and the mechanism which handles the beets and topsafter they have passed the/ topping mechanism are fullydescribed inqHaving set forth generally the' various parts and mechanism whichoperate upon the beets from the time that they are removed from theground until they are topped,`l will npw proceed to set fortlra form ofdrive mechanism that may be em ployed to operate the above mechanism andparts. For instance, as shown in the machine herein disclosed, theentire mechanism may be operated from shaft 30 through a chain 34 whichruns over a sprocket 33 mounted on shaft 30 and a sprocket 35 mounted onshaft 36. rfhe shaft 36 is a horizontal transverse shaft mounted on mainframe 10 and carries a sprocket 38 which carries a chain 39 arranged' ona sprocket 40 mounted on shaft 14.v rll`his manner of driving the shaft14 from the shaft 30 causes it to rotate in `a counterclockwisedirection, as indicated by the ar- A intense rows throughout thedrawings. 14 has mounted onrit two oppositely face'l bevel gears 85which mesh with and drive bevel gears 86 mounted on shafts 87 whichSprockets 88 are mounted on the shafts 87 to carry and drive chains 89which are ar ranged over sprockets 90 mounted on tho spindles 23a whichextend from the rear ends of rolls 23 through, mounting brackets 28 asclearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. This driving mechanismconstitutes the drive for rollers 23land causes them to rotate at thesame speed and in opposite directions and so that their adjacent sidesmove upwardly.

To drive the chain 72 a shaft 44 is driven from shaft f14 Athrough chain42 runnin over sprocket 41, Vmounted on shaft 14, and sprocket 43,mounted on shaft 44. -The shaft 44 has mounted on it a gear 47 whichmeshes with and drives a gear 48 mounted on shaft 49. rli`he gearconnections between the shaft 44 and shaft 49 cause the shaft 49 torotate in the proper direction and in a direction opposite to that inwhich shaft 44 rotates. A sprocket 50 is mounted on shaft 49 and carriesa chain 51 which runs over a sprocket 52 mounted on shaft 53 therebycausing shaft 53) to rotate in the same direction as'shaft 49. rlheshaft 77 on which is mounted sprocket 74 which car-4 ries chain 72, isdriven from shaft 53 through a chain 83 carried on a sprocket 84 mountedon shaft 53 and a sprocket 82 mounted on shaft 77, as clearly shown inFig. 5 of the drawings.

To drive the chain 59 a shaft 58 is rotated from shaft 53 through chain56 which runs over sprocket 55, mounted on shaft 53, and sprocket 57,mounted on shaft 58. The shaft 58 drives shaft 61, on which is mountedsprocket 60a, through bevel gears 7 0,and 71 mounted on the shaft 58andjshaft 61 respectively.y

The shafts T94, which drive conveyer chains 24, and knives 25, aredriven from shaft 77 through bevel gears 205 and 206 mounted on shafts77 yand 94, respectively. It will be noted from the above descriptionthat the entire beet handling mechanism is driven from, or through,shaft 14.` By thus sired position without in any way e'ective orchanging any of the knives or drive-- mechanisms.

Having described a preferred form of myl invention, ll-claim: 1 lin amachine of the character described rllhe shaft ulll) iis' Y lao drivingthe entire mechanism through shaft'r beet-digging means embodying soildisturbing means embodying a plow member adapted to be arranged wellbelow the surface of the ground, and a blade adapted to be arrangednearer the surface of the ground.

2. A machine for digging beets comprising a longitudinally arranged plowmember adapted to be arranged well below the surface of the ground, anda transverse blade adapted to be arranged nearer the surface of theground.l

3. Inr a machine of the character described a main frame, a sub-frameadjustably mounted in the main frame, power means mounted on the mainframe, two conical shaped spiral bits rotatably mounted on thesub-frame, drive means connecting-the power means and the bits to rotatethe bits so that their adjacent portions move upwardly and soildisturbing means adjustably mounted onthe main frame to cooperate withthe bits, said soil disturbing means comprising an adjustable arm, alongitudinally arranged plow member mounted onI the arm andv adapted tobe arranged well below the surface of the ground at one side of the rowof beets, and a transversely arranged 4blade mounted on the arm to benearer the surface of the ground and to extend under the bits. A

4. In a machine of the character described the combination of beetdigging means, comprising soil disturbing means, and two oppo sitelyrotated parallel conical shaped spiral bits, and conveying meanscomprising two parallel rolls arran ed end to end with the large ends ofthe its and rotated in the same directionas and in synchronism with thebits, the rolls beine adapted to receive beets from the bits and holdthem by their tops and means for engaging the tops of the beets and thebodies of Athe beets to move Athem longitudinally of the rollswhile'they are being held by the rolls, said means comprising fingerscarried on chains.

5. In a machine of the character described a main frame, a sub-frame.adjust-ably `nounted in the main frame, power means mounted on the mainframe,l soil disturbing means adjustably mounted on the main frame, saidsoil disturbing means comprising an adjustable arm, a. longitudinallydisposed plow member mounted on the arm and adapted to be arranged toone side of the row of beets and well below the surface of the ground,and a transversely disposed soil engaging blade mounted on the arm toextend across the line of the row of beets, two opposite' conical shapedspiral bits rotatably mounted in the sub-frame to co-operate with thesoil disturbing means in digging beets, two conveyer rolls rotatablymounted in the sub-frame to be parallel with each other and connected tothe large ends of the bits so that the bits and rolls will rotatetogether, the rolls being adapted to receive beets from the bits andhold them by their tops, drive means connecting the power means and therolls to rotate the rolls so that their adjacent sides move upwardly,means for moving the tops of the beets longitudinallyl of the rollswhile they are held in the rolls, said* means comprising a driven chaincarrying lingers -to engage the tops, and means for moving the bodies ofthe beets in synchronism with the tops, said means comprising a cha-indriven in syn? chronism with the above mentioned chain and havingfingers to engagethe bodies of thebeets.

6. In a machine of the character described beet digging meansembodyingsoil disturbing means, embodying a vertically adjustable carrier, a plowmember mounted on the carrier, and adapted to operate `well below thesurface of the ground, and a blade mounted on the carrier and adapted tooperate near the surface ofthe ground.

7. In a machine of the character described beet .digging meanscomprising in combination, soil disturbing means, twoco-operattransverse soil engaging member operating under the surface ofthe ground andextending under the bits, said member and bits cooperatingto handle beets.

8. In a machine of the character described beet digging means comprisingin combination, disturbing means, two cooperating bits operating abovethe ground, and a soil engaging member operating near the surface of theground and extending transversely under the bits, said member and bitscooperating to handle beets.

9. In a machine. of the character' described, twoparallel oppositelyrotating rolls cooperating to hold beets by their tops, fingersextending between the rolls and n'ioving longitudinally of the, rolls toengage and move the tops of the beets, and means operating insynchronism with said lingers to engage the bodies of the beets to movethem with the tops.

10. In a machine of the character described beet digging means comrising in combination a plow adapted to p ow a furrow alongside a row ofbeets, a transverse soil engaging blade adapted to extend across the rowof beets and to assist in lifting the beets, and means to engage thebeet tops and lift them.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 5th day of June, 1920.

ALVA M. RICKS. Witness:

VIRGINLA. BERINGER.

ing bits operating above the ground, and a

